WITH PRIDE
DEEP STUDY
Robbie Medwed is back from meeting with global LGBTQ peers, only to find frustration at home. Page 12
SITE IN PLAY
Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael and its 44 high school students are thriving in every way except campus space. Page 24
Senior Evan Miller just wanted to help sports recruits tell their stories; then USA Today called. Page 32
Atlanta VOL. XC NO. 35
WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM
SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 | 5 TISHREI 5776
Atlantans Swoon For Sen. Sanders
Consulate Not Dead Yet
A
mbassador Judith Varnai Shorer took her case for the survival of the Israeli Consulate straight to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during her recent trip home with a delegation from Tennessee, including Gov. Bill Haslam. The new consul general to the Southeast didn’t hold back on her trademark candor when given a chance to speak to her boss — Netanyahu is serving as his own foreign minister in the new government — who is someone she has known a long time. During a visit to the offices of the Atlanta Jewish Times Wednesday, Sept. 9, Shorer made clear that she has no intention of being the last Israeli diplomat to serve in this city. She said closing the consulate in the South makes no sense. “I was shocked,” she said, when the proposed budget calling for the closure of the consulate and several other diplomatic missions was announced in August. The budget passed a first vote in the Knesset in early September but now must go through committee reviews before a final vote in November. She’s hopeful that the obvious value of the consulate will win out, but “no one knows what will happen.” ■ No Shanghai for Shorer, Page 8
CULTURE SHIFT
Rabbi Ephraim Silverman wants no Jewish child left behind at the High Holidays, but that means selling parents on shul over school. Page 18
By Elizabeth Friedly efriedly@atljewishtimes.com
J
Dragon Kahn The Jewish side of the fantasy fest, Pages 30-31
Photo courtesy of Dan Carroll, Dragon Con Aquaman goes fishing during the Dragon Con party at the Georgia Aquarium.
OPEN BOOK
The lineup for November’s Book Festival of the Marcus JCC features ambassadors, news anchors, familiar faces, Dr. Ruth and a chance to give back. Page 29
Calendar
INSIDE
Candle Lighting
3 Arts
29
4 Sports
32
Remember When 5 Business
34
Israel
6 Obituaries 36
Opinion
9 Crossword
Education
38
22 Marketplace 39
ewish Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders made his first stop in Atlanta for a fundraiser Friday, Sept. 11, drawing a packed crowd of supporters to 200 Peachtree St. downtown. The Vermont senator, already leading in Democratic polls in New Hampshire, made news days before the Atlanta event by surpassing front-runner Hillary Clinton in polls in Iowa for the first time. Kids, grandparents and young adults with beards and neon-colored hair gathered in the standing-room-only space. When the clock hit 6 p.m., the advertised start time, screams and chants of “Bernie” erupted from the crowd. The senator soon took the stage, staring into the crowd and remarking, “It is hot. And it is loud,” drawing a roar. His speech stuck to the rallying cry of his campaign: income inequality. “I don’t represent corporate America. I don’t represent the billionaire class.” He addressed a variety of reforms, including the cost of college tuition and racial inequality in the criminal justice system — a notable issue after Black Lives Matter demonstrators confronted him for skirting the issue at past rallies. “There is a profound disgust in a system that allows billionaires to buy elections,” Sanders said. He later addressed the billionaires directly: “You will not continue to get huge tax breaks when children in this country go hungry.” With a focus on middle-class support, the fundraiser was open to donors of as little as $50. ■